ANTI-TIP ROLLER
The present invention is a file cabinet with a roller positioned on the bottom of the cabinet in proximity to a front edge of the cabinet to prevent the cabinet from tipping over when acted on by a force generally perpendicular to the front edge. The present invention also provides a method of moving the file cabinet by rolling the file cabinet on the roller.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 61/874,504, filed on 6 Sep. 2013. The co-pending Provisional Patent Application is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and is made a part hereof, including but not limited to those portions which specifically appear hereinafter.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a device to prevent file cabinets, furniture and other large items from tipping over and possibly injuring individuals. More specifically, this invention is directed to a roller attached to a front edge of a file cabinet to allow the file cabinet to traverse or slide forward rather than tip over.
2. Discussion of Related Art
File cabinets can be a tipping danger. The danger can be increased under reasonably foreseeable circumstances including: overloading of extended drawers; pulling downward on extended drawers; pulling horizontally on open or closed drawer hardware or cabinet structure; becoming ensnared on the cabinet structure while walking away from the unit; impacting or pushing forward on a backside of the cabinet by people or vehicles, such as forklifts; mounting cabinets on non-level surfaces; and impact from rapidly opening drawers against stops. Known methods and devices for increasing the stability of the file cabinets include: bolting the cabinets to the floor and/or wall; adding counterweights; gang bolting cabinets side-to-side or back-to-back; locating the file cabinet beneath a shelf or other horizontal surface that blocks the cabinet's ability to tilt; and interlock systems that permit only one drawer to be open at a time. Bolting, ganging and under mounting work well to minimize tipping, however, these methods immobilize cabinets and inhibit relocation within an office or other space. Counterweights and interlocks only provide modest improvement in overturning resistance and cannot be retrofit to traditional file cabinets that have multi-decade life spans.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA general object of the invention is to allow a file cabinet to translate forward, rather than tip over, when acted on by a horizontal force. Another object of this invention is to improve the movability of the file cabinet.
When solid objects are freestanding on a plane surface, horizontal forces can translate, rotate, or leave the objects unaffected. These events are mutually exclusive and jointly exhaustive, that is, one and only one will occur. To minimize or eliminate the dangerous rotation or tip-over of a file cabinet, the file cabinet of this invention includes a roller on a lower front edge of the cabinet. When a forward acting load causes the lower rear edge of the cabinet to lift-off or drag along the surface, the entire file cabinet of this invention will translate forward without tipping over. The front lower edge rides along the surface on the roller. The file cabinet, when pulled, impacted, or pushed forward may rock fore and aft while moving frontward, but will not tip-over when snagged, pulled, or pushed. As a precaution, the file cabinet should not be overloaded as loaded cabinet drawers may negate safety benefits of the file cabinet roller of this invention.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the cabinet includes a housing with a plurality of drawers. The file cabinet further includes the roller connected to the housing and projecting from a bottom surface of the housing in proximity to a front edge, where the front is a side of the file cabinet that the drawers extend from. The roller preferably projects slightly from the lower surface of the file cabinet, the projection preferably ranges from ¼ inch to ½ inch however any projection which allows the file cabinet to translate forward rather than tip over may be used.
These and other objects and features of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
The present invention is directed to a file cabinet 20 with a roller 10 connected to and projecting from a bottom surface 22 of the filed cabinet 20 to prevent the file cabinet 20 from tipping over and possibly causing injuries. In an alternative embodiment, the roller of this invention may be incorporated into any type of furniture, appliance, or large object that may be prone to tipping over including, but not limited to, bookcases, televisions, and dressers.
In the embodiment of
In operation, when a forward acting load 16 causes the lower rear edge 30 of the cabinet 20 to lift-off or drag along a surface 32, the file cabinet 20 will translate forward on the roller 10 without tipping. The front lower edge 18 will ride along the surface 32 on the roller 10. The file cabinet 20, when pulled, impacted, or pushed forward may rock fore and aft while moving frontward however the cabinet 20 will not tip over. As a precaution, the file cabinet 20 of this invention should not be overloaded, as the loaded cabinet drawers may negate safety benefits of the file cabinet roller of this invention.
The statistical characterization of the test results provide: an average forward tip resistance of 18.72 lbs.; a standard deviation of 0.432 lbs.; a coefficient of variation of 2.3% and a balance angle of 15.5°.
The statistical characterization of the test results provide: an average forward tip resistance of 9.39 lbs.; a standard deviation of 0.281 lbs.; a coefficient of variation of 2.99% and a balance angle of 9.0°.
As shown in tests 1 and 2, the file cabinet 100 without the roller of this invention can easily be tipped over with less than 20 lbs. of force.
Test 3: Empty File Cabinet with the Anti-Tip Roller of this Invention, Protrusion ½ Inch:
In this test, the cabinet 20 of this invention does not tip over and only translates in the direction of the pull force. The statistical characterization of the test results provide: an average drag force of 15.63 lbs.; a standard deviation of 1.030 lbs.; and a coefficient of variation of 6.59%.
Test 4: Loaded Cabinet with the Anti-Tip Roller of this Invention, Protrusion ½ Inch:
Once again, in this test, the file cabinet 20 of this invention does not tip over and only translates in the direction of the pull force. The statistical characterization of the test results provide: an average drag force of 14.58 lbs.; a standard deviation of 0.870 lbs.; and a coefficient of variation of 5.97%.
Test 5: Empty Cabinet with the Anti-Tip Roller of this Invention, Protrusion ¼ Inch:
In this test, the file cabinet 20 of this invention does not tip over and only translates in the direction of the pull force. The statistical characterization of the test results provide: an average drag force of 16.86 lbs.; a standard deviation of 1.330 lbs.; and a coefficient of variation of 7.90%.
Test 6: Loaded Cabinet with the Anti-Tip Roller of this Invention, Protrusion ¼ Inch:
The experiment showed that the cabinet 20 of this invention does not tip over and only translates in the direction of the pull force. The statistical characterization of the test results provide: an average drag force of 14.47 lbs.; a standard deviation of 0.533 lbs.; and a coefficient of variation of 3.687%.
Thus, the invention of this application provides a file cabinet minimizes or eliminates file cabinets from tipping over and possibly causing injuries.
While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purposes of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.
Claims
1. A tip resistant cabinet comprising:
- a housing including a drawer; and
- a roller connected to the housing, wherein the roller is located in proximity to a front edge and a bottom surface of the housing, wherein when a force acts perpendicular to the front edge causing a lower rear edge of the housing to lift off a ground, the file cabinet translates forward without tipping over.
2. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 1, wherein the roller protrudes from the bottom surface of the housing.
3. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 2, wherein the roller protrudes from a range of ⅛ inch to 1 inch.
4. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 1, further including a leveling screw positioned on the bottom surface of the housing.
5. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 1, further including an interlock system to prevent a plurality of cabinets from being opened at a same time.
6. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 1, further including a counterweight positioned in proximity to a rear edge of the file cabinet.
7. A method of moving the tip resistant cabinet of claim 1 comprising:
- tilting the file cabinet onto the roller and moving the file cabinet on the roller.
8. A tip resistant cabinet comprising:
- a housing including a drawer; and
- a roller projecting from a bottom surface of the housing in proximity to a front edge, the roller projecting from ¼ inch to ½ inch from the bottom surface, and wherein when a force acts perpendicular to the front edge causing a lower rear edge of the housing to lift off a ground, the file cabinet translates forward without tipping over.
9. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 8, further including a leveling screw positioned on the bottom surface of the housing near a rear edge of the housing.
10. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 8, further including an interlock system to prevent a plurality of drawers from being opened at a same time.
11. The tip resistant cabinet of claim 8, further including a counterweight positioned in proximity to a rear edge of the file cabinet.
12. A method of moving the tip resistant cabinet of claim 8 comprising:
- tilting the file cabinet onto the roller and moving the file cabinet on the roller.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 8, 2014
Publication Date: May 14, 2015
Patent Grant number: 9717338
Inventor: Ralph Lipsey BARNETT (Wilmette, IL)
Application Number: 14/480,100
International Classification: A47B 97/00 (20060101); A47B 63/00 (20060101);